


Powers that Be

by jaimistoryteller



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, BAMF Sarah, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Magic, Sexual Violence, The Wished Away
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-06-07 00:54:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6778177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaimistoryteller/pseuds/jaimistoryteller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A horrible night leads to life altering circumstances for Sarah. Jareth finds himself with more things going on than expected in a relatively short period of time. Life in the Underground is never exactly what it seems, yet always is exactly that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Broken Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Let's see, where to start, I adopted this story from azaldhre. Zie wrote the original versions of the first five chapters, the base plot and most of the original characters in those chapters, however I have made changes, so there are something things that are the same and some that are different. J
> 
>  **WARNING** : Attempted Rape, Sexual Violence, and Violence

_Sarah’s POV_  
She slips quietly down the alley, holding her breath as she inches deeper into the shadows and prays that the clearly drunk men following her would overlook the badly lit opening between two seedy apartment buildings. Her hand snakes into her pocket, reaching for the phone that her dad bought her the previous year for Christmas. Carefully, she pulls it out, pressing the button to turn it on, only the screen doesn’t light up. Shit, she forgot it died during dinner. She shoves it back into her pocket as she tries to keep in the shadows and quiet.

When she hears them yelling at each other and shoving their way into the narrow entryway, she hisses in frustration. She turns sharply to the right, following the curve of the alley straight into a brick wall. Her eyes quickly scan the area to see if she can escape from some other way.. When she doesn’t see one,  she spins around to see the outlines of her stalkers in front of her, standing between her and her escape. 

Keeping one eye on them, she continues looks around, hoping for a previously overlooked entry to an escape route. Hissing again, she reminds herself sharply that this is the real world. No impossible Labyrinth here for you to solve with magical exits, Sarah-girl. Just drunk men who definitely have knives who are probably going to kill you!

Quickly, she presses herself into the wall against her back and hoping that they possibly can’t see her in the shadows.

“Well, well, look what we have here. A little mouse, all by herself. Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be out in the dark alone little mousey?” The man who is obviously the leader of this group from the way the others are following his lead taunts as he moves towards her, a knife glinting in the faint light of the alley and a disturbing leer stretching across his shadowed face. 

Behind him, his gang spreads out from what she can hear. A moment later one of the men towards the back turns on a camping lantern, joking to his companions that he wants to be able to see what they are going to do to her. Some of them even touch themselves in dark excitement at what they have planned for her.

She shivers in revulsion, using the light to count them and starting to mentally calculating how many she needed to take out to get away. There’s only six of them. No big deal. Just six drunk, violent pervs between me and freedom. When she realizes that there are actually eight of them, she has to fight back panic. 

All of them are armed and leering at her with sadistic arousal metaphorically, and in some cases, literally. 

Should have taken the step-monster’s ride home. Oh god. Not good. Shit shit shit, she thinks, still forcing back the panic. She rarely regrets turning down her step-mother’s offers, but right now she would most definitely prefer spending time with that nagging woman than dealing with this. 

As the leader closes the space between them, she forces herself to relax, biting her lip nervously as she plans her escape. When he gets within reach of her, she lashes out, slamming her heel into the side of his knee, and bolting forward. The next two she dodges, making them slam into each other as she continues on her path. The fourth she kicks in the knee cap, pleased to hear the high pitched scream he releases as it breaks. She attempts to use her smaller size to slip beneath the fifth and sixths reach and escape to safety. 

“Help! Help me! Fire!” She screams as loudly as she can, lashing out at the seventh’s leg and just barely missing as she darts towards the entrance. “Help! Fire! Help please! Fire!”

It was useless. Strange hands grab a hold of her, dragging her back into the alley, and holding her struggling form still.

Fear keeps her from being able to keep screaming as her throat closes in panic.

“Hey Michael, this was your idea, so you get first choice. What do we do with her?” The man with a vicious grip on her hair asks of the one who had first approached her. 

Michael, the first one she had kicked, turns and looks her up and down. His lips curve in a cruel mockery of a smile slowly and saunters over. His smile only gets wider as she doubles her attempts to get away. Trying to break away from at least one of the sets of hands holding her. She is immensely disturbed by his expression and the fact that he plays with the knife in his hand as he moves in their direction. His eyes promise more vicious entertainment for him than she wants to be part of, along with retaliation. Once he is close, he leans in and casually cuts off her cotton sweatshirt, nicking her skin repeatedly in the process.

“Can’t do anything ‘till we know what we have to play with now can we?”  He suggests cruelly.

When her ruined sweatshirt falls open, he looks up and down her body again, eyes lighting with maliciousness and lust as he sees that she is only wearing a sports bra beneath her sweater.

He nods at the man holding her hair, and she whimpers when a knife is pressed to her throat. 

Michael smile turns even more savage when another person presses a hand over her mouth. 

“We can’t have you shouting for help now can we, little mouse?” The gang leader taunts her.

In one quick swipe, he cut off her bra, knife intentionally slicing into her flesh at the same time. All of the men laugh as her body tenses and she hissed into the dirty hand covering her mouth. She freeze when the blade at her neck presses into her skin enough to prick it, a small trickle of blood running down to join the pool starting to form in the cut down her sternum.

Oh god no. Oh god oh god oh god. She thinks  frantically as she tries to kick Michael as he forces himself between her jean clad legs. Her teeth sink into the hand over her mouth and when it is yanked away with a yell, she screams as loudly as she can. “Someone help me! Fire! Please! Someo-” She is cut off as the one she bit slaps her hard, causing her to see stars and for the knife at her neck to bite in deeper. 

The hand is roughly forced back in place over her mouth and Michael laughs in dark amusement at her.

“I think you just pissed him off, little mousey. After I’m done with you I’ll let him go next.” The gang leader sneers. His hands unbuckle her belt and unbuttoned her jeans. She whimpers as they are roughly cut off of her by flashes of knives when they don’t slide off smoothly. The tattered remains of her pants falling to the ground. 

She suddenly thinks of the goblins who have been steadily invading her closet for the past fourteen years and of how they loved to tear her clothes to pieces when on a sugar high. As her underwear was cut off, she screams. Pain rushes through her as she was sliced open again, blood dripping down onto the ground. 

Again she bites into the hand over her mouth, only this time when it moves she doesn’t scream, “I wish the-” she begins only to be cut off by one of them shoving a piece of her destroyed clothing in her mouth before covering it again.

Licking her across her neck and rubbing his face in the blood coating her collarbone, Michael mocks her, “Get yourself ready little mousey. I’m gonna rock your fucking world.”

Rage fills her, and she gives another attempt to fight,  jerking her head hard to the side and  spitting the pieces of fabric out. Whipping her head forward, she bites his ear as hard as she can, tearing away with horror as she realizes there was a chunk of flesh in her mouth. She is thrown against the wall of the alley as Michael roars in pain, a hand clamping over his freely bleeding ear

She spits out the chunk of flesh and retches, a mix of blood and bile leaving her throat. “I wish the goblins would come protect me,” she manages to gasp out, forcing herself to believe and remember.

While the men are still in shock, she flings herself passed the group of men, all of whom were staring at their bleeding leader as he swears and groans in agony. Racing back towards the entrance of the alley once more, she screams for help and that there is a fire as loud as she can, knowing that people should still be out in droves on the main streets since it is the dinner hours.

“Help me! Oh God! Fire!  Help Me! I wish the goblins would come protect me! Som-” Hands grab her again, cutting her off in shock. 

Abruptly, she is aware of a throbbing pain in her chest and an odd inability to breathe. Looking up she see Michael standing over her and it makes her wonders when she had fallen down. Following his eyes down to her chest, her mind notes that it was incredibly rude to stare at a person’s breasts, especially when they had a knife sticking out o-. 

She blinks twice to make sure she is seeing this right. A knife. In her chest. She looks up dazedly only to jerk her head back as the asshole spits on her and starts to walk away. 

Only he never quite makes it back to his group. Shadows ripple and move, silver flashes through the air, screams of horror and pain surround her. One by one, each of her attackers goes down, never to move again.

When she tries to stand up and move out into the street to get help, she becomes aware of the icy numbness spreading across her body, and a strange lethargy that left her unable to move. Instead, she sags against the wall closest and closes her eyes as the last of her consciousness flees.

She was unaware of the light surrounded her body. By the time the soft glow fades nothing remains but gruesome scene of blood splattered and pooled across the alley.


	2. Soften Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a few hours late, stuff happened, I will do an extra edit tomorrow. Have a great one
> 
>  **WARNINGS:** implied/referenced rape, pregnant teenager, implied/referenced abortion

Jareth’s POV

He is definitely not in a good mood.

Furiously, he stalks through the halls of his castle, terrorizing any goblin unlucky enough to get in his way.

Currently, he has three runners in the Labyrinth at the same time and has the difficult and tedious task of making sure they never run into one another while ensuring that they either give up or are unable to continue before their time runs out. This however, was not why he was feeling so murderous. It is not the deliciously devious, completely justified terror rained down on his subjects that he is used to feeling, but a towering rage so severe it is starting to give him a headache. He is not able to pinpoint the exact cause of his current mood, but he is ready to demolish his goddamn castle if it meant that stupid hobgoblin would get there quicker.

Throwing himself angrily into his throne, he thinks about the subject of that hobgoblin. It's the one his Champion befriended, Hogwart, or Hogwash or something equally moronic. He snarls as the hobgoblin saunters into the throne room like he owns the place. The damned thing had been unbearably smug since it became known that he helped the Champion defeat the Labyrinth.

Straightened in his throne, a malicious smirk forms on his face as he snarls, "Hogwart. You lazy, worthless, _spineless_ scum! There are three runners in _my_ Labyrinth getting ever closer to _my_ castle.” Each time he puts emphasis on a word, the hobgoblin flinches. “ _You. Let. Them. In.”_  He growls, enjoying the way Hogwart steps backwards in fear.

His voice gets dangerously quiet, every goblin in throne room freezing in hopes his attention would not turn on them and the two children on the dias trembling. “Enlighten me on why you thought this was a good idea, especially after what happened that last time you did!" His rage has him nearly roaring the last few words at the now cowering hobgoblin. He is sadistically pleased when the hobgoblin can’t find any way coherent way to respond.

"King Jareth I-I-I... But th-th-th-they-" The hobgoblin cringes as he gracefully stands and pulls himself up to his full height and towering over Hoggle. A crystal ball appears in his hands and the hobgoblin whimpers in fear.

"They what Hogwash?” He demands, mocking the hobgoblin sarcastically, “Warmed the cockles of your heart? One more mistake like this and I will move that pathetic hovel you call a house into the bog, you along with it. However..." He trails off threateningly, flipping the crystal he has in his hands to show the three runners deep within the Labyrinth. He barely withholds a grimace as the hobgoblin's hideous face lights up with a pathetic imitation of hope. " _If_ you can somehow manage to direct all three of these fools into the darkest, dankest, dampest, deepest oubliettes within the next five hours, you will be spared."

He holds himself back from rolling his eyes as the hobgoblin rushes out of the room.

Piece of cake, he thinks victoriously. That has him sitting back down abruptly. He has never used his Champion's favorite phrase before, so to use it now, on the anniversary of his defeat was startling. Ahhh. That would explain my mood, he thinks. Just remembering her smug words has his blood boiling in fury and an odd aching pang radiating from in his chest.

For several hours he sits lost in thought on his throne, and looks up sharply when he hears the door creaking open tentatively compared to the goblins who have been moving around freely and cleaning.

"Ah, Hogwart. You have succeeded then?” He queries sarcastically, rolling the crystal to view the time, “And oh my, you are within your time limit. I must admit myself surprised.” His tone turns  mocking “Here I was expecting you to fail. Although, if I had told you to poison them with a peach you would have now wouldn't you?" He smirked as the hobgoblin flushed, obviously reminded of his betrayal to the Champion. "Get out of my sight or I _will_ bog you."

Hoggle rushes away as fast as his short legs can carry him, probably determined to check on his house and make sure it was still where he last saw it.

He slumps back against one of the arms of his throne, casually slinging his legs up over the other. Brooding, he stared into his crystal and looks on with satisfaction as all three runners gave up almost simultaneously.

After sending them back Aboveground he turnes to his prizes on the dias beside his throne. One baby, a teenage boy, and a young girl. All three are huddled together, the baby held by the girl, both held protectively by the young man. The baby is in an enchanted sleep, as she is under a year old and he does not want to have to deal with her crying.

Striding over to them, he crouched down and smiles, a much softer and genuine smile than the runners or goblins ever saw.

"Are-are you going to kill us?" The girl asks timidly, fear evident in her big blue eyes.

He gently shakes his head. Slowly, he reaches out and gently touches her hair, patting her curls softly. As the girl flinches away from him and he immediately pulls his hand back, not wanting to deal with a meltdown from a panicking little girl. He looks reassuringly at the boy as well, who looks like he is either going to faint or throw up at any moment.

“I will not kill any of you, child.” He answers softly, “You will be making your homes here from now on, as your families have dese-” he is cut off as he feels another wished away child. “One moment,” he murmurs. Spinning a quick crystal to see who it is.

A young girl sits huddled on a bed, softly repeating, “I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away,” over and over again. Her belief is some of the strongest he has felt in years.

“I will return shortly,” He announces, vanishing before they can say anything more and appearing in a burst of glitter and moonlight before the huddling girl. His eyes sweep over her, taking in her exhausted appearance, and obviously pregnant state. “Why have you wished yourself to me?” He demands quietly.

She trembles in fear and excitement as she looks over him, studying his armor before meeting his eyes. “I wish the Goblin King would take me away,” she answers, “Far away, forever.”

He arches a brow at her, studying her face as he waits for her to say why.

After several moments of silence, she starts babbling, “I never wanted to be pregnant, they wouldn’t let me get rid of it, blamed me, even though I’ve never had sex. They won’t let me get rid of it. Give it away. Anything. I don’t want it.” She starts to cry, but rubs at her face angrily, continuing, “I found a book, an old one, with a beautiful red leather binding, one where a child wished herself away to the land of the Labyrinth. I hoped it was true, and started wishing myself away, because a land like that must have magic. It can be taken away, given to someone else, anyone else, so I don’t have to have it.”

He understands immediately what she means and anger rushes through him. She is not yet an adult, still a child, this should never have been forced on her. Still, he has to ask, “You understand, as you are wishing yourself away, there is no one who can run the Labyrinth to get you back, you will be forever in the Underground?”

She nods eagerly, “I understand,” she replies, awkwardly getting to her feet, and standing before him in the tiny bedroom.

“It is done,” he intones, taking them both back to his throne room.

Turning back to the three children already waiting for him, he watches as they stare at the girl, eyes widening in shock.

“You were wished away,” he tells the two already in his throne room, “Your families failed to run the Labyrinth to get you back, they gave u-” he is cut off as he is forced to shield his eyes from a blinding light that enveloped the throne and fades as suddenly as it had come, having deposited a naked and bleeding young woman in his ornate chair.

The odd pangs he’s been feeling for several hours in his chest scream at him as the woman slowly falls off of the throne and lands at his feet with a limp thump. Her hair shifts as she falls and he sees a face that he could never forget. His entire body freezes in horror as he vaguely hears the terrified screams of the little girl beside him. He slowly kneels and registers the knife in her chest and the faint fluttering of her breathing that is quickly growing slower. Reality catches up to him in a sudden rush as the blood pools under her and made a sticky puddle beneath his boots.

Disbelief and anger filled his voice as he chants, “ _Sarah. Sarah! Sa-”_ swallowing hard, he cuts himself off only to bellow, “Sarah! I Need a nealer! Now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	3. Kingly Fury

Jareth’s POV  
He swore loudly, spinning around to block the children from the macabre sight of his dying Champion as his personal healers rush into the room, their eyes widening at what they found.

“I need you out of here Your Majesty.” Cliona, the younger healer informs him, “The children too. Don’t bother us or she will die.”

While she is speaking, one of the healer trainees immediately set to work stemming the blood and magically collecting the pools of blood around Sarah to introduce back into the Champion’s body later.

“Who is that?” The boy exclaims, shock and fear filling his voice, “Is she dead? What happened to her?”

The boy keeps looking back to look at the healers as he herds the children out of the room and to the hall. The little girl had passed the baby to the teenager and was now clinging to his leg as they walk, making things a bit difficult. It’s probably a good thing that he is used to such behavior from goblins and other children. The girl who wished herself away is quiet, nearly stumbling on his cold stone floors in her bare feet.

“I’m scared.” The little girl whimpers, “Can I go home, please? I just wanna see Daddy…” her voice trails off as she bites backs tears.

“Is that going to happen to us? Who was that? She looked human,” the teenage boy continues to question over the little girl.

He sighs, knowing the boy would probably keep asking until he got on his nerves which are already frayed. “She is the Champion of the Labyrinth. The only one to ever make it to my castle and rescue the one she wished away within the time limit. I do not know what happened to her, as she has been Above ground for the past fourteen years with her family.”

The boy opens his mouth to ask another question but quickly closed it at the pointed look he is given.

He gives  the teen an apprehensive glance as instincts told him this boy will be one to look out for.

Turning his attention to the little girl, he answers seriously, “As for you little one, I’m afraid you can’t go home. All of your families wished you here, as they surrendered before they completed the Labyrinth’s challenge, they forfeited all rights to you. I have claim to each of you now as your King and temporary parent.”

Both of the wished away children stop walking just a few feet from the throne room doors, looking up at him in horror  as they comprehend what he had said. The little girl is first to react and she starts crying hard. The boy is desperately attempting to keep himself from following her into tears according to his expression.

The boy glances at him sadly, mumbling, “I-I guess you probably want to know our names, if you’re going to be stuck with us for the rest of our lives.” Taking a deep breath, he continues, “I-I’m Grayson. My mom was drunk…” He swallows hard, closing his eyes for a long minute before opening them. “I don’t think she knew what she was doing. This was supposed to be an old bedtime story! She used to read it to me to get me to behave.” He looks down and takes another deep breath. “I’m sixteen, if that helps in any way.”

His eyes sweep over the teen, taking in everything from Grayson’s exhausted face to how carefully he was holding the baby  against him.

The little girl looks up at him bravely, blue eyes huge in her tear stained face. Her voice is surprisingly clear when she states, “I’m Sage. My daddy said that was my mom’s favorite plant, which is why he named me that.” Tilting her head and letting go of his leg so she could put her hands on her hips, she demands, “Are we in heaven? Do we get to meet angels? Are you an angel?”

He feels his supposedly cold heart ache as the little girl talks. Her innocence was pure and bright and not something he is used to having directed at him.

Her voice wobbles a little as she continues, “I’m six and daddy says that mommy became an angel after I was born. Is she here? Do you know her? Daddy wished me here to play. Is he here too?”  Her eyes dart around the hall as if trying to figure out where she is.

Grayson and him look at each other in a moment of pure helplessness and heartbreaking understanding.

His voice is gentle as he explains, kneeling down to look her in the eyes, “This isn’t heaven child. This is the Goblin Kingdom. We are in a different realm than the one you were born in, and I’m afraid your mother and father are not here, nor will they ever be.”

He stands up, head turning slightly to glance behind him through the still open doors. He swallows hard as he watches the healers wrapping his Champion's wounds, the cleaned blood being channeled back into her body.

Shaking his head, he turned back to the children and states, “Come now, we must find you rooms to claim as your own. You will be living here in the castle from now on, and as such must be well taken care of.” Turning slightly so he can look at the girl who wished herself away, he states, “I will have a healer report to your room once you are situated.”

She nods, pushing away from the wall she had leaned heavily against.

He uses magic to compel the children to come with him until they start walking on their own. Sage sniffles as she shuffles along beside him, hand still hooked into the hem of his pant leg. Slowly, he takes them down a long hallway to a nondescript door. Pushing it open, he reveals the silhouetted form of what seems to be a young man in a very cluttered study.

The man looks up, startled, and smiles when he sees who has disturbed him. “Your Majesty! Are these your newest subjects?” The wood elf moves away from the desk and steps into the doorway. The children seem startled to realize that he has pointed ears and amber eyes. “Hello there young ones. I am Fáelán, King Jareth’s assistant and personal guard. I will show you to the rooms that are available, if you would like to come with me.”

The wild elf holds out his hand in invitation, and his mouth crooks up into a small inviting smile. Sage slowly lets go of his pant leg and steps towards the elf. With a serious expression, she looks up at his assistant, taking hold of his hand, and pulling him down to her height with a sudden jerk of her arm.

Seriously she  states, “I’m Sage. I’m six.” Her eyes widen slightly as she demands, “Why do you have pointy ears? Your eyes look like a doggy or wolfy. Are you a werewolf? Daddy said werewolves didn’t exist but I think he’s wrong. Is the champion lady going to die?”

Fáelán blinks, appearing to be struggling to keep up with the barrage of questions. The wild elf glances up at him to see that his normally sassy expression  has been replaced by a perplexed one. Frowning slightly, Fáelán gives a small shake of his head, unused to the sudden flood of noise, not to mention the seriousness of the last question from someone so young. Looking back at the expectant girl, the wild elf takes a breath and prepares himself.

“No little one, I am not a werewolf. I am a fae, just like King Jareth here, except that I am a wild  elf where he is pure fae.” Fáelán states clearly and calmly, “My eyes look like a wolf’s because all wild elves have eyes similar to animals. It is also why my name means young wolf.” He smiles playfully at the child, “I do not know if werewolves are real, so I cannot say if your father was wrong or not.” His tone turns very serious as he answers the last question. “I did not know there was anything wrong with the Champion. Whatever it is, I’m sure our healer and her assistants will fix it with no problems.”

The wild elf glances between both children as he asks, “Now, would you like to pick out a room? The baby looks very tired and I am sure that she is going to start crying any second now.”

His assistant chose not to mention the fact that they were under a sleeping spell as he stands up, keeping Sage’s hand securely within his grasp. His eyebrows quirk when he spots the second teenager who is very pregnant, but he says nothing about it. Instead, he leads the small group down the hall. As  they walk away, the little girl’s sadness passes as she gives in to the excitement of meeting new people and exploring a new place with new friends. Her voice barely wobbling as she asks questions while leaving his range of hearing.

He sags against the door frame briefly before turning and walking back to the throne room. His eyes sweep the room where the goblins are already cleaning when Cliona calls for him from across the castle using a summoning spell.

Curious and slightly worried, he follows the call towards Champion’s Chambers. He is almost there when Aoife appears at his side, the head guard of his goblins that guard the children and the wished away is speckled with blood.

“Sire,” she intones, voice high and sharp as she falls in step, “Has the Champion appeared here?”

“Yes,” he replies, not bothering to say more. He knows the reedy goblin will quickly get to the point and tell him what is going on.

“Thank the Labyrinth! She called to us, wished for protection, so we went to her, a group of human males meant her harm,” she explains, voice getting vicious, “We slaughtered them for daring to harm her. I was getting ready to use my emergency crystal when a white light took her away. We disposed of the garbage in the deepest pits of the Bog.”

He nods, a dark smirk flickering across his face as they reach the Champion’s Chambers, opening the door to see where Sarah lay unconscious on the large bed.

“If I may? I wish to see how she does.” Aoife requests, motioning to the spot by the wall.

He nods in agreement, turning his attention to Sarah and the healers.

The head healer, Cassidy, the ancient lady goblin who answered his first desperate call for a help steps forward. She has been here since he was a child and newly crowned, and would most likely still be here long after he is gone. She smiles faintly at her him, ushering him over to the chair placed next to the bed. She has never spoken a word in the many years he has known her, and continues to be stubbornly silent even though he has a mountain of questions for her. So instead of pestering her like he so desperately wants to, he sit down and drops his arms onto the bed, his attention turning to Cliona, the second oldest healer in the room and the one who often explains things to him,

As she finishes disposing of his Champion’s bloody and torn clothes as he asks, “How are her wounds?”

The goblin-fae tosses the clothes into the fire, turning and trudging over to him, only to bow sharply before answering,  “It was very close. The persons who attacked her obviously did not mean to kill her at first, but the knife in her chest suggests that something happened to accelerate the violence. The stabber missed her heart but collapsed one of her lungs, and she was bleeding from dozens of other cuts. Had you not gotten her to us when you did, we would not have been able to save her.”

She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts. When she opens them she continues in the same serious tone, “We closed everything up and applied the healing paste after returning what blood we could to her system. She should be healed within a week, as long as her Aboveground physiology does not cause any unexpected side effects. After that, she will need to be on bed rest for a week to be certain. However-”

The goblin-fae takes another deep breath, a haunted and furious expression entered her eyes, “She is not empathic or telepathic like the fae races. It will make her mind much harder to heal.” She gives a small shake of her head, “I do not know what happened but all of the injuries suggest a sexual attack. The pattern of bruises suggests of six or more attackers. There was no rape but it seems to have been very close call.”

“There was eight,” Aoife states from the door.

Fierce pride enters the healer’s voice as she states, “We found traces of an unknown males saliva on her neck and blood and bits of flesh belonging to the same male and another in her mouth. She will need a lot of support if she wishes to heal emotionally from this terror. The fact that she fought them will help but it will not be enough.”

“She fought hard. Three of her attackers had injures, others had bruises.” The guard states fiercely.

A growl rips from his throat, followed by a deep, angry snarl that bubbles its way out of his chest. That someone _dared_ touch a woman against her will, let alone _his_ Champion, fills him with a fury greater than any he has ever experienced. A whimper from one of the assistant healers snaps him out of his immediate anger and he realizes he has released his hold on his magic in his rage.

He drops his head onto his arms next to Sarah on the bed and sags, reigning his magic in tightly. The terror and fury twining themselves into an icy knot in his stomach. Opening his mouth to apologize, a hand is gently placed on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

Looking up he sees the healer who informed him of his Champion’s condition smile at him in understanding. A glance around shows all the other healers looking at him in understanding as well, and he takes a deep breath before looking back at his bedridden champion.

“She _must_ get better. She has to. I can’t lose my Champion again.” He states quietly and fiercely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	4. Heavenly Taste

Fáelán’s POV

From his office, he leads the children through the castle to a long, well lit hall with several doors. “The babes will stay here in this room until families are found for them.”

He opens a door to reveal a lovely nursery, with three women within. An obviously pregnant fae woman and two goblins. One of the goblins, with a rather flat face, is moving around the room, putting things away as she tidies it. The  other goblin, with unusually delicate features, and the pregnant fae woman are playing with several small children in front of a beautiful wall of stained glass windows.

“Good afternoon ladies.” He greets them politely, “We have one ne little one for you now, another within the next few days. They will need families and names.” His hand motions to the teenage boy holding the baby.

The cleaning goblin hustles over to them, reaching out to take the teens elbow and lead him into the room. Once they are closer to the other two women, she carefully takes the baby girl that she passes to the delicate goblin.

“Children, these are Dechtire,” he motions to the flat faced goblin, “Keelia,” he motions to the delicate goblin, “and Maisie,” he motions to the fae woman.

Dechtire glances at the older children, asking, “Would you like to help us name her?”

Sage smiles and nods excitedly, pulling the teenage boy the last few feet to stand next to the mothers. Throwing herself to the floor between the mothers, the little girl is practically vibrating with excitement at the thought of doing something so happy after having had such a bad day.

The other children pause in their play to study her for a moment, before returning to playing.

“Hi, I’m Sage.” The little girl declares excitedly, then asking, “Can I name the little girl? My daddy says it’s a tradition in my family for girls to be named after flowers, and I like Irises. And lavenders. But that name doesn’t fit her at all. Can we name her Iris so she can be my sister?”

The Labyrinth seems to agree with the name that Sage chose as the sleeping spell is lifted from the baby girl. Slowly, her eyes open, revealing them to be a curious combination of gold and purple. She looks around with a sleepy, placid calmness.

The mothers looked sharply between the baby and Sage, a shocked look that speaks volumes to the flashing between the watching mothers.

She looks at the goblin woman holding Iris and asks, “Will she be your baby now? Can I visit her, please?” She claps happily when the woman nods.

“I may keep her, or she may find a new home with a different family, as long as she is here you may visit to play with her.” Keelia explains gently.

When he clears his throat, the boy jumps, and turns to him sheepishly, eyes downcast as if he is embarrassed. Tilting his towards the door, the two teenagers nod slowly, making their way over. The little girl grumbles, but gets up and follows with a promise to come back soon as possible.

“We need to go pick out rooms for the three of you.” he states smoothly, explaining why they cannot stay in the nursery. “His Majesty wishes you to want for nothing, and it is my job to make sure all of those wants are filled.”

Waving the three children back into the hall and he waves goodbye to the mothers in the nursery before closing the door. Quietly, he leads them a short distance down the hall, stopping at the first, rather plain door after the nursery.

Opening, he comments, “This is the closest room to the nursery. I figured you might like it, little one. Just think of what you want the room to look like and the Labyrinth will change the room to fit.”

They all watch as Sage closes her eyes in fierce concentration, Grayson whistles in surprise when the room abruptly grows a princess bed and matching wardrobe out of the floor and beautiful flower murals appear all over the walls. The room is done in soft pastels, heavily favoring the purples and greens of sage and lavender, covering the murals and the bed sheets.

Sage opens her eyes and smiles happily, nodding once before turning and leaving the room excitedly. “Let’s go get a room for Grayson, Mr. Fáelán! I wanna see what his room will be!” She pauses for a moment, tipping her head and looking at the other teenager, “What’s your name?”

He glances at the pregnant female, curious as well, and waits for an answer.

“I’m Jennifer,” the teenage girl whispers, eyes darting and head ducking down.

“Hi!” Sage exclaims happily, then repeats, “Let’s go get a room for Grayson, Mr. Fáelán! I wanna see what his room will be!”

Both males laugh and take the hands she shoves at them as she led them across the hall to another door. “You should take this room. It’s near mine and if I get scared I can come hide with you.” The little girl declares energetically.

He watches as Grayson blinks once and nods slowly, head tipping to the side inquisitively as he studies the six year old. The teenager is probably trying to understand when he became the six year old he has only known for a few hours sense of comfort or home. According to the slowly smile that spreads across his face, and the second slow nod, Grayson is alright with that. The teenager might even enjoy the idea of being a brother.

Stepping into the door frame, Grayson closes his eyes, focusing on the room he had always wished for, mixed with bits of comfort from home. When the teen opens his eyes and pushes the door open, he finds a room that must please him because Grayson’s smile is nearly radiant as he takes in everything.

“It’s like my old room, only so much better,” the boy comments as he steps in and looks around, eyes wide in shock and awe.

He smiles at the boy, commenting, “The Labyrinth provides, as long as She knows what’s needed.” His eyes glance over the fine dark wood furniture and the wall full of book cases.

“Oh man, this is awesome!” Grayson remarks as he moves further into the room and looks over at the bit of the room that is been hidden behind the door. “Sage, come here. I made a pillow fort for you so you have a spot if you want to come hang out in here.”

According to the younger man’s face, he doesn’t know why he wants to please the little girl so much, but the wild shriek when she dives face first into the mound of pillows is music to his ears and makes Grayson beam in pleasure.

Noticing the way the emotions flash across the younger man’s face, he steps beside the teen, lightly touching his shoulder and commenting, “It is perfectly all right. I know exactly what you are feeling right now. Children are sacred to both the Labyrinth and to the Fae who reside here, so she emits a sort of empathy field that magnifies the protective instincts found in adults and those nearing adulthood. This little one will find herself spoiled to the point where she may forget how to do anything for herself.”

They both turned back to the highly entertained girl and burst into laughter as they realize she has buried herself in the pillows and is pretending to swim through them.

The teenage boy fishes her out of the thoroughly destroyed fort and patted her head in amusement when she pouts at him.

“Fáelán?” Grayson queries, waiting for him to nod then continuing, “I was wondering, why are there so many fae here in the castle? We’ve easily seen the same amount of fae as we have goblins and I was curious… Why are all of you here if this is the Goblin Kingdom?”

He blinks once, faintly surprised at the question as he hadn’t realized that the boy had noticed, he thought that Grayson was far too preoccupied with the young ones to observe such a trivial matter _._ Though _,_ he thinks with an internal sigh, to Abovegrounders something like this must seem incredibly strange and entirely illogical _._

Slowly he answers, “Many of the fae here are the servants of King Jareth’s family. Most of us not been here for all that long, just the last six hundred years or so. Because of how time differs between the Fae Realms and the Human Realm, only fourteen or so years have passed Aboveground since they came here.” He pauses, giving the children a moment to absorb that information before continuing, “It is tradition after a Kingdom gains a champion to start preparing for the return and coronation of the Champion.”

Brows furrowing in concentration, the young man asks, “So, it’s kinda like the medieval laws with the King and his vassals? And how he would gain the vassals of the person he married? Why would the champion automatically marry the King? What if the champion is male? Or the Kingdom run by a queen and the champion female? Also how is five centuries ‘not all that long’? How long do your people live?” by the time he has finished speaking, the boy’s voice has pitched higher as concern and disbelief enters it.

He raises an eyebrow at the sudden flood of questions coming from the teen who had been rather quiet so far.

Grayson blushed immediately and looked down, body tensing like he was expecting a blow.

He probably is, he muses in frustration, a small frown curving his lips at that reaction, he comments,. “You can ask as many questions as you wish, child. No one will hurt you for speaking your mind. To answer them, yes, the ‘medieval’ laws you speak of were based off of our laws, and there is no worry about gender when it comes to the ruler of a Kingdom and their Champion because they do not have to marry. The title of Champion is similar in position and standing to that of King or Queen, and they sit in on their monarch’s council as a trusted adviser, not to mention having a say in how the kingdom is run. Some champions do choose to marry their monarchs, and those unions are blessed no matter the gender. For the Fae, love is love and it should be cherished and protected no matter what.” He ruffles Grayson’s hair and smiles down at the astonished boy. “As for our lifespans, only illness or wounds can kill us. We cannot die of natural causes. I am the youngest of the fae who came to live in the castle and I am almost two thousand years old.”

All three stare at him, eyes huge with amazement and shock.

“Mr. Fáelán, you’re old!” Sage exclaims with a giggle.

Grayson choking beside her and gasping for breath at the affronted look on his face..

“Just kidding!” She exclaims happily, “Your face looks really funny like that!” Her stomach rumbles and she abruptly moves to stand in the doorway to the hall and spinning around to look at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “I’m hungry. Can we get food Mr. Fáelán?”

After glancing at him, Grayson completely loses it and sink down onto the bed. It is probably due to the absolutely bewildered expression on his face. The teenage boy laughs so hard tears are streaming down his face and when his own stomach starts rumbling in response to Sages’ he a new burst of laughter has him rolling about.

“Shown up by a six year old!” the boy exclaims between peels of laughter, “This is amazing! Oh my god I can’t breath!” Grayson gasps for breath as he tries to control his laughter, wheezing as he gets himself under control. Sitting up straight, he remarks, “That was beautifully done, Sage. I needed that so much.”

The teen grins at the very proud little girl and watches as a look of understanding came over the his face at that admission.

She nods slowly, “I know you did, that’s why I did it.” A wistful smile crosses her face, “Daddy always says laughing makes the pain go away. We would always laugh on my birthday. He says it’s for Mommy.”  

The room gets very sober instantly, as the rest of us realize what the little girl doesn’t.

“I still want food.” She whines softly, “Can we get food please?”

He nods once, smiling as the boy does the same, both of them offer the little girl a hand.

“We need to stop for one more room,” he comments, using his free hand to motion to pregnant teen.

Jennifer ducks her head, mumbling, “Don’t worry about me.”

“It’s alright,” he comments, “If you do not mind being close, there is another room just past this one on our way.”

A hesitant smile curves the teenage girl’s lips as she nods jerkily.

“Excellent,” he agrees, leading them down the all a bit more. He stops at the next door, this one on the same side as Sage’s room, and gives Jennifer a chance to decide what sort of room she wants. He watches as she bites her lip and concentrates.

When she pushes the door open, it is to reveal a rather pleasant room in fall tones. The walls are harvest oak paneling, their golden hues filling the room with light and warmth. The windows are stained glass, their designs of fall forests, casting beautiful dancing lights over everything. The queen sized bed and dresser are both made of red wood. Heavy quilts and fluffy pillows on the follow the fall forest pattern, looking like fallen leaves in vibrant colors.

She swallows and nods, closing the door and motioning for him to continue.

“That was really pretty!” Sage declares, small body bouncing happily as they return to walking.

Jennifer just nods quietly, a small smile on her lips.

They walk the rest of the hall, passing the other bedrooms and ignoring them as they make their way back to the main hall. From there, they make their way down through into several smaller branching hallways before stopping at a set of massive swinging doors.

Pausing by the door, he comments, “I will warn you now, this will probably look nothing like the type of kitchen you are used to Aboveground.” He smiles with pride, “This particular kitchen serves the castle proper, and as such must be very large in order to make food for all of the people that live here, not to mention any gatherings of the Fae or balls that the King holds.”

The three nod in understanding. So with the warning firmly in mind, he pushes one of the doors open and the small group walks in.He watches each of his charges reactions, filing them away for the file he will have on each by the end of the day.

Grayson stops moving and just stands by the door, eyes huge as he tries to take in the sheer amount of food being handled and cooked. “I-I’m allowed to eat some of this, right?”

“Yes, Grayson, you are allowed to eat some,” he replies gently, “Why don’t you ask one of the cooks in that group there,” he motions to the lesser cooks, ones who make food for the nightly communal meal provided for the city, “if you can have something. You pick what you want, they will get it to you to the best of their ability.”

For several long moments the boy stands there shifting foot to foot, eyes wide and chewing his lip nervously. Finally, it appears he works up the courage because he watches with pleasure as the boy does as suggested. Only before he has a chance to open his mouth, Patty, the oldest and most experienced of the group, presses a bowl in the boy’s hands, then steers him towards a table off in the corner.

Two of the others in the group, Nerys and Nels, get food for the other two and direct them to the same table. He asks for only a butter roll since he is not all that hungry, and settles at the table with them.

Amusement fills him as he watches Sage happily dig into a bowl of spaghetti, her face getting covered in sauce. His eyes flicker to Jennifer who is slowly eating a small bowl of soup and dipping a large slice of bread in it. Last one for his eyes to fall on is Grayson, who is staring at his bowl in shock.

He watches as Grayson glances at the repeatedly at cook who had made him sit down and blanches when he sees that she is glaring at him. Patty’s eyes narrow as she looks at the teens fork, then at at the teen, then at his pot pie impatiently.Grayson blushes as he realizes with a start that she is waiting for him to start eating. Slowly, the boy digs the fork into the pot pie and carefully takes a bite, trying not to drop any food to waste.

He smirks as the teen exclaims in shock and amazement, “This is the best thing I’ve _ever_ eaten!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	5. Doubt and Sorrow

Fáelán’s POV  
The exclamation of wonder and delight that bursts from Grayson’s lips draws the attention of every cook, assistant, and chief in the room.

Patty smiles at the boy, moving close to pat him on the arm since it is as high as she can reach. With a nod, the goblin returns to her tasks, shooing several others back to work as she does so.

Their small group sits there in peaceful silence as they eat. As they do so, he sees the way the two wished away start thinking about the situation they now find themselves in. In an attempt to keep the panic and breakdowns from happening in the kitchen, he decides to tell them about when the vast majority of the fae moved here, but first, a bit more about Patty.

“I think she wants to adopt you now,” he comments with a smile. “After the compliment you gave  her, she’ll spend all day feeding you anything and everything if she feels you need it or will like it.”

Grayson’s eyes flicker over to her, watching as she directs some of the others near her without saying a word, only using the knife in her hand to motion.

“She was here when the fae first arrived and spent four days cooking for them non stop.” He remarks, shaking his head at the memory.  “The king had to force her to take bed rest after she nearly cut three of her fingers off in her frenzy to get us all fed.” Warmth fills his voice as he continues, “She is the head chief, the one who chooses what meals will be provided, yet she often works with the under chief’s making the communal meal.”

Sage looks up from her spaghetti in shock,  eyes narrowing as she asks, “What’s a communal meal?”

“Our king is a generous man, for all he can be as vicious and temperamental as all high fae. After he became king, he saw that there were those who would go days without eating for a variety of reasons. Knowing that it would cause more problems than not, he set up a dinner time meal that anyone from the city and surrounding villages or homesteads can take part of.” He nods towards the Patty and the other cooks currently working with massive pots, “After the nobles dinner, the communal meal is served at the city hall and each village hall within a day’s ride of here.”

“That is so cool!” Sage shouts in delight, eyes widening, “Isn’t it expensive to do that?”

“The Labyrinth provides,” he responds, not wishing to try and explain the magic that makes this room possible. Noticing that the three of them are done eating, he suggests, “We should return to your chambers, I am certain that the excitement of the day will catch up  with each of you soon.

Jumping to her feet, the little girl asks, “Can we go back to the room with the babies? I wanna see Iris!”

“Of course,” he replies smoothly, getting to his feet and offering Jennifer a hand up.

The teenage girl nods and smiles bashfully, accepting the help and swaying in place for a moment as she regains her balance.

“I’ll help her,” Grayson offers, standing and moving around the table to where they are standing. Politely he offers an arm to Jennifer, smiling at her shyly as she accepts, and settling one hand lightly against her back.

“What’s this? No, this? No wait, how does this work?” Sage asks one goblin after another as she moves around the kitchen, taking in the new sights and smells now that her belly is full. When she gets to Gwenith, an under cook currently slicing peaches, she asks, “Can I have some? What are they? Are they orange or pink?”

He quickly corrals the young girl, bringing her back to the other two so they can make their way back to the nursery.

Grayson’s breathing picks up as they make the return trip, his eyes darting nervously everywhere, and every step growing more hesitant until he just stops outside the door of the nursery. The boy’s eyes widen as tears shimmer in their depths, his breath hitches, a strangled sob escaping his lips as he freezes in place. He doesn’t have to be psychic or a telepath to know that the panic and breakdown he was expecting is now happening.

This is going to go one of two ways, he thinks as he watches the boy, he is either going to bolt, or he is going to become catatonic for a time.

When Grayson hand drops from Jennifer’s back and he slowly starts backing up, eyes impossibly wide for a human, he knows the boy is going to bolt.

Sighing, he knocks on the nursery door just as the boy does so.

Elaise, another pregnant fae woman opens it, arching a questioning eyebrow as the boy bolts, weaving down the hall and out of sight. “I will care for the girls,” the fae woman announces, waving him away, “Go, find the boy, comfort him.”

He nods, turning on his heel and tapping into the castles protective field to trace where he has gone.

According to that field, Grayson is trying to wake up, terrified he is trapped in a horrible dream or vivid nightmare. He watches as the boy ignores the goblins and fae shouting around him, still running blindly, panic driving his actions.

Two of the fae guards by the front door grab his arms, jerking him to a sudden stop and holding him to a stop.

“Let me go!”  Grayson cries out,  voice breaking as he gasps for breath, “I want to go home! Please… I just…. I wanna go home…” Tears run down the boys face, as he collapses to the floor sobbing.

He kneels beside the boy, gently wrapping an arm around too thin shoulders as he murmurs soft and comforting sounds. It has been thousands of years since he was wished away by his family and adopted by the wild elf family he calls his. Despite that, he can still remember the pain of abandonment, how it felt to know he was unwanted.

“It will be alright little one,” he murmurs comfortingly, “Cry as much as you need, let it out of your system. I know it’s hard,” he starts stroking gentle circles in the boy’s back as he continues, “When I was ten, my brother wished me away and my father refused to let him run the Labyrinth and get me back. They did not even try to save me. I have found a home here, and you will too."

“But family,” the boy keens brokenly, “Family’s supposed to stick together.”

He hums in agreement, “Yes. Family should stick together. The fact that you were wished away means that you have a chance at a new family.” He replies to the slowly calming teen. “You are old enough to decide whether to stay at the castle and finish your education here or be adopted. If you are adopted, the Labyrinth will slowly change you to the same species as your new family.”

Wiping his face, Grayson mumbles, “What if I don’t want a new family?”

He smiles at the boy affectionately, “That’s all right too.” He sits back, watching the boy collect himself, "I will always be here, as will King Jareth, and many other members of the castle staff. I know we can never replace those who left you, but I hope that you will come to find a home here."

Gryson buries his head against his shoulder, thin arms wrapping around him as he sobs for what is lost. The boy gasps, tears clogging his throat and making it hard to breath as the last of the emotion drains from him. It is likely the teen will cry again in the future, but it will probably never be as hard as it is this time. The initial shock and pain of being a wished away can be overwhelming.

“Would you like to take a nap until dinner time?” He asks the teen as the younger man sits up, rubbing at his eyes.

“Yeah,” Grayson mumbles, “That’d be nice.” Looking at his lap, the boy stumbles over an apology. “I’m sorry, I don’t normally do that.”

Getting to his feet and offering the younger man a hand up, he comments, “It’s perfectly all right. It is not uncommon for older wished away to have that sort of reaction.” He nods once sadly, “I would bet that the ladies in the nursery had to deal with something similar from Sage.”

He watches the boy’s eyes widen as he thinks of Sage, and a flush colors his skin. “I forgot her, how could I forget her? She’s alone, just like I am.”

Quietly but firmly he states, “You’ll never be alone again unless you want to be. You will alway have a home here.”

Grayson nods slowly, licking his lips and glancing about a bit lost.

“Come along, you can get used to where everything is once you have settled in.” He suggests with a smile smile.

“Okay,” the teen agrees.

Quietly the two of them make their way back to the nursery where they find Sage surrounded by most of the children within, curled up together on the play mats sleeping. Maisie is gently rocking Iris. Jennifer is nowhere in sight.

Dechtire ambles over to them, lightly touching his elbow so he will kneel down.

“Yes Dechtire?” he queries softly, pitching his voice for her years only, though he knows the other goblin in the room can probably hear him too.

“She had the breakdown, realizing that her father has left her here permanently. The other children sought to comfort her with toys and snuggles, the whole lot of them fell asleep afterwards. We chose to let them stay like that.”

This is the first time Elaise has been around recently wished away. As a born high fae, she has always known of them but never was one. "Are they going to be alright?" she inquires in a sweet voice as she drifts over to where he is kneeling.

Grayson excuses himself, returning to his room according to the protective field that he checks to make sure the boy is not trying to bolt again.

“Eventually,” he replies sadly, “It’s a hard time. Do you know if the healers have been to see Jennifer yet?”

Dechtire gives a small shake of her head, “Not yet. Last I knew they were with the Champion.”

He nods, asking, “Do we know what happened?”

Elaise answers, “Someone, probably the Champion, wished for the protection of goblins. They dealt with the attackers, and the Labyrinth brought her Champion home. The oldest of the goblin healers are with her now. As is our King.”

Nodding once more, he remarks, “I will make arrangements with the healers to help the girl.”

“We will watch over Sage, when she awakens, depending on when that is, we will take her to dinner or to the kitchen for a snack.” Maisie states from her position on the floor near the children. “Tomorrow will be soon enough to start establishing routine.”

He nods, bowing to each of the mothers and leaving.

The first place he heads is Jennifer’s room He knocks softly, when she doesn’t answer, he opens the door to quietly look in on her, finding her curled around a stuffed animal on the bed, quilt pulled over her body as she rests. He can see the tear marks on her face and wonders why she is crying. There was only three runners, so she must have wished herself away. What would bring a child to be in her condition? Why did her family not protect her?

Closing the door just as silently as he opened it, he heads to his office to make notes on each of their files. He has kept track of the wished away for more than half his life. Just as his father did before him, and his father before that. He might have been a wished away long before, but he has not thought of himself like that in years. His adopted family became his family in all ways.

Now he just to have find families who qualify for the newest wished away and make sure they are able to settle into their lives, along with all his other tasks as the castle’s steward and the king’s thane.

No matter, he will do his duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	6. New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* hi lovely readers, sorry about the wait, real life and writers block kicked my rump for the last few weeks, now starts the chapters that are purely mine, hope everyone enjoys

Jennifer's POV  
Just days after her fourteenth birthday she was attacked on her way home from school. It was brutal, painful, humiliating. Everything she has always thought could never happen to her. Yet it did. When her older brother found her, she thought she going to be safe, protected, cared for. Only that’s not what happened at all. Her parents tried ignoring the situation, acting like if they didn’t acknowledge it, then it didn’t happen. During the early months following the attack she was fine with that. It meant she could just try pushing it all away like a horrible nightmare or really bad day.

Three months later that stopped being an option. She had fainted during gym, and when she didn’t immediately recover she was to taken the hospital. It was then that she learned that life as she knew it was about to be ruined. Even though she hadn’t wanted sex she was pregnant. It was at that point the cops got involved, and all the avoiding her entire family had been doing was blown apart.

She was blamed for it. Maybe not outright, but enough that it started affecting her life. Her grades started to slip, and her friends withdrew from her as if she had something they could catch. The rumors and stares and whispers that followed her make her really uncomfortable.

When the doctor carefully suggests that she should see a doctor at the clinic for her situation, her parents blew a lid. No child of theirs will get an abortion!

By the time summer break arrived she was seven months pregnant, and didn’t want the baby but past the point she could get rid of it. When she tells her parents she wants to give it up for adoption, they refuse that too. Scared and angry, mind and body so very tired from the stress of the last seven months, she spends most of the time crying.

It’s a rare trip out of her room or the house when she discovers the old leather bound book simply titled ‘Labyrinth’ with no author or date printer. She almost doesn’t get it but it keeps drawing her attention like an itch she can’t scratch. Since it’s the first thing to do that since the attack, she spends what little money she has from when she still had an allowance on it.

That night after another horribly awkward and tense meal, she retreats to her room to read the book, surprised when it turns out to be a fairy tale about a magical place where children in bad homes can go to live. There they make new homes and friends and families. There magic can help her heal and get rid of the thing growing in her belly that she never wanted. There she wouldn’t be treated like she’s at fault for what happened.

Despite how much she hopes it’s real, she’s sure it’s not, and shoves the book under her bed to be ignored for the next month. Nearing the end of her seventh month pregnant, she gets into a blowout fight with her family. Everything that hasn’t been said since the attack is finally in the open. She is blamed and belittled. Her emotions overwhelm her, the fragile walls she built in her mind to protect herself come crashing down and everything broke free.

She ran from the room, tears pouring down her face as she raced to her room.

Curling into herself, she sits on her bed, mind focusing on the lines of the book, the wish that she can make to leave this place and go somewhere so much better. Her small arms wrap tight around her knees as she chants over and over again, “I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away.”

When an imposing man appears like a flash of light in her room, she’s not sure what to do, and mumbles the wish one more time. Is this the Goblin King? He doesn’t look like any of the goblins she’s seen in movies or read about in books.

Despite his fierce appearance, he is is gentle when he speaks to her. Kind enough to make sure she understands that if she does this, there is no turning back.

She agrees anyways, willing to never come back if it means she doesn’t have to keep the baby growing in her belly.

He offers a hand and they’re gone the instance she touches him, reappearing in a massive castle throne room where three others wait huddled together on the dias next to the throne. A teenager, a little girl, and a baby.

Frowning, considers the fact she doesn’t want the one she carries, that she wished herself and it away to escape a life of blame and misery. She doesn’t listen as the Goblin King explains to the two what is happening. Instead, she takes a long hard look at her new home or the start of her journey to her new home. She’s not exactly sure which it is.

Her initial thought that the throne room is massive is confirmed as she looks around, noticing all the little nooks and cranny's the goblins of all sorts seem to be perched in. There is a giant chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, made of silver and crystal, with the crystals giving off a multitude of colors of light. The walls and ceiling seem to be some sort of amber colored stone, blended with whites and silvers, making it look like something valuable. A pair of huge, wooden double doors are opposite of the throne.

Why does it need such huge doors? She wonders as she continues to study stuff.Only some of those goblins look like ones from books and movies. Some look like gremlins, and some look like other types of fairies and fair folk.

She’s drawn from her mind when the room is filled with bright light and Goblin King screams a name in shock. Horror fills her as she know exactly what happened to this Sarah person, she can recognize the signs from her own attack and she has to focus on her breathing to keep from going into worse shock.

Healers pour into the room, and shoo them out, the Goblin King included. It takes everything in her not to freak out or cry. Here supposed to be safe! How could that have happened? Yet. . . Her mind flashes to the way Sarah was dressed, or what’s left of her clothes, they’re from the human world, not like anything she sees around here. Does Sarah travel between the two? How was she attacked? Sarah will need help. Hopefully the people here don’t make Sarah feel the way her family had treated her.

To drag her mind away from the pain and horror, the nightmares lurking behind her mind, she focuses on her surroundings and the other two. It lets her discover that Grayson is sixteen, wished away by a drunk mother, and that Sage is six, completely unaware of where they are or why.

After the boy bolts and the little girl is pulled into a group of other little children, she asks if she can go to her room. The adults quickly agree.

A small goblin appears out of nowhere to ask, “I get ‘ou an’thin’?”

“No,” she replies, shaking her head.

“‘Ou need an’thin’ just ask fer Mizfiz. I be here.” The goblin states before vanishing  from sight.

Curling up on her new bed, she cries until she falls asleep.

A soft but persistent knocking at her door wakes her up.

Struggling out of bed, she waddles over to the door, opening it up to discover to women at the door. One appears to be an elf, the other looks like some sort of spirit according to her features.

“Good morning, dearie, I’m Litah, this is Alethea. We’re here for your healing,” the elf declares gently.

“Healing?” she repeats blankly.

“Yes. dearie, your healing. The removal of the infant and restoring of your body.” Litah explains softly.

“Oh,” she straightens, eyes filling with hope. “Oh.” she repeats.

“Would you like to do this here or in the healers rooms?” Alethea inquires politely, voice having some sort of accent she doesn’t recognize.

“What. . . what do I have to do?” she stammers out.

Smiling affectionately, Litah replies, “Well, dearie, you lay down. We lightly pull your shirt up, lightly rub this warm gel on your stomach,” the elf  holds up a small colorful glass  jar, “do a spell to remove the child, and heal your body.”

“When you are ready a mind healer will start working with you to smooth the edges of your mind until the events that lead to this are nothing but the figments of a bad dream.” Alethea picks up almost immediately.

There is several long minutes of silence as she considers the options and the fact she is so close to being free.

“You will probably sleep for several hours following the healing,” Litah remarks, “When you wake up, you’ll be hungry.”

“Have you met the goblin who will care for your room yet?” the sprite queries.

“I,” she starts, “I think so? There,” she pauses again as she tries to think of the goblin who stopped by earlier name, “a goblin, Mitzy, Mitiz,Mizzi,” she bites her tongue as she knows she has gotten it wrong so far, “Miztiz, said I could just call for her.”

She’s barely finished speaking when there is a soft huff of air, and the goblin is there, looking around expectantly. “I needed?”

“Not quite yet, Miztiz, however if you could check on Jennifer every few hours to make sure she is resting well, that would be appreciated.” Litah answers the small goblin politely.

“I do,” the goblin agrees, vanishing once more.

“Excellent, once you are awake you can call for her and she will either show you to the kitchens where you ate last night, or bring you food. Whichever you prefer.” elf tells her calmly.

“I’d like to stay here,” she answers shyly, ducking her head.

“Lay down on the bed, and we will begin,” Alethea direct soft but firmly.

She nods, making her way back to the bed and clumsily climbing on it. Stretching out, she tugs her pajama top up off her belly and waits to see what happens.

“I’m going to rub the gel on your belly now,” Litah informs her as the two women step up next to the bed.

“Okay,” she responds, trying not to shake because of nerves.

With every step of the process, one of the healers tells her what’s going on. She feels the instance she is no longer pregnant because it is almost like a weight being lifted off her. The gel vanishes at the same time, She looks down to discover that the gel has moved away from her skin and within a small floating ball hovering just above her belly is the baby.

Her attention quickly switches to her belly, delighted to see the flatness once more.

Before she has a chance to say anything she is drifting off to sleep, but she feels far better than she has in months. Her new home is amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi

**Author's Note:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


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